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It was Bioware, with the restraining bolt, in the trash compactor!!

ignore_meignore_me Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 1,987

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-04-09-the-doctor-is-out-greg-zeschuk-on-bioware-ea-and-the-uncertain-console-future

The killer is revealed. Well, if you believe this guy anyway. Another piece of the puzzle? 

Survivor of the great MMORPG Famine of 2011

Comments

  • tiefighter25tiefighter25 Member Posts: 937

    EA did give them an enormous budget for SWTOR, and did leave them alone for quite a few years. In the end EA did rush SWTOR out for x-mas 2011 sales (and avoid competitor releases) but that was after a long period of leaving Bioware alone. (Although EA did rush Biowares DA2 and perhaps ME3.)

    I think he is being honest. SWTOR's long strange trip to launch isn't' just a result of EA meddling, a lion's share belongs to Bioware itself.

    Alternatively, don't be surprised when you get eaten by the lion when you willingly agree to go into the lion's den.

    Also of note, it might not have worked out exactly as the good Doctor hoped, but it certainly wound up awfully $weet for him.

  • ignore_meignore_me Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 1,987

    If he is to be believed, then Bioware used the extra cash for experimental purposes. He also made a reference to the long periods of sitting around wondering how to do things now that they were part of EA, and then figured out they just had to do them.

    I wish the interviewer would have asked:

    "Did you ever think about the effect on fans that a failed SWTOR would have? I mean beyond the financial aspect, did you ever grasp the responsibility of the project that your company took on?"

     

    Regardless,this is a mea culpa for Bioware. EA is only guilty of providing funding to dummies.

    Survivor of the great MMORPG Famine of 2011

  • DeaconXDeaconX Member UncommonPosts: 3,062

    I actually have never blamed EA for SWTOR... though I have been boycotting EA since SWTOR, it's for many other reasons.

     

    BioWare decided to play it 'safe' with the over all design while botching a lot of their actual implementations and executions. It's sad - they set out and designed an MMORPG that predominantly feels OUTDATED in every way. The only actual saving grace of SWTOR in my opinion were the multiplayer dialogues and depth of stories/writing.

     

    Of course, the heavy focus on stories is also a weakness... because they completely neglected social game features that would keep people busy when they

    a) Didn't feel like doing story based questing.

    b) Gobbled up the content.

     

    I think they really missed the mark for what most Star Wars fans actually wanted... to 'live' in the Star Wars universe in a way which allows them to make themselves and their lives in this place AND go on grand adventures with friends.

     

    If you'd take the core concepts of SWG and SWOTR, executed them well, updated to today's standards... you'd have one killer SW MMORPG.

    image

    Why do I write, create, fantasize, dream and daydream about other worlds? Because I hate what humanity does with this one.

    BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.

  • ignore_meignore_me Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 1,987
    Originally posted by DeaconX

    I actually have never blamed EA for SWTOR... though I have been boycotting EA since SWTOR, it's for many other reasons.

     

    BioWare decided to play it 'safe' with the over all design while botching a lot of their actual implementations and executions. It's sad - they set out and designed an MMORPG that predominantly feels OUTDATED in every way. The only actual saving grace of SWTOR in my opinion were the multiplayer dialogues and depth of stories/writing.

     

    Of course, the heavy focus on stories is also a weakness... because they completely neglected social game features that would keep people busy when they

    a) Didn't feel like doing story based questing.

    b) Gobbled up the content.

     

    I think they really missed the mark for what most Star Wars fans actually wanted... to 'live' in the Star Wars universe in a way which allows them to make themselves and their lives in this place AND go on grand adventures with friends.

    Yeah, If they could have done the stories AND an MMO in the mien that you stated, it would have been a whole other story.

    Survivor of the great MMORPG Famine of 2011

  • GrayGhost79GrayGhost79 Member UncommonPosts: 4,775
    Originally posted by ignore_me

    http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-04-09-the-doctor-is-out-greg-zeschuk-on-bioware-ea-and-the-uncertain-console-future

    The killer is revealed. Well, if you believe this guy anyway. Another piece of the puzzle? 

    Leaving a company as large as EA requires a lot of documents to be signed and if you ever find yourself in breech of any of those you can find yourself hurting financially in a big way :P 

  • ignore_meignore_me Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 1,987
    Originally posted by GrayGhost79
    Originally posted by ignore_me

    http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-04-09-the-doctor-is-out-greg-zeschuk-on-bioware-ea-and-the-uncertain-console-future

    The killer is revealed. Well, if you believe this guy anyway. Another piece of the puzzle? 

    Leaving a company as large as EA requires a lot of documents to be signed and if you ever find yourself in breech of any of those you can find yourself hurting financially in a big way :P 

    While I agree with you, couldn't he have just answered the question another way instead of throwing his company under the bus for EA? He could have said it was any number of vague organizational issues instead of absolving EA--especially if EA were somehow to blame. I think it's more likely that he is being honest, and Bioware blew through a shitload of cash in a stupid way.

    Survivor of the great MMORPG Famine of 2011

  • tiefighter25tiefighter25 Member Posts: 937

    He isn't really throwing Bioware under the bus since he was running Bioware. He's throwing himself under a bus. (A bus which did pay him a lot of money.) There's a lawyer joke in here somewhere.

  • GrayGhost79GrayGhost79 Member UncommonPosts: 4,775
    Originally posted by ignore_me
    Originally posted by GrayGhost79
    Originally posted by ignore_me

    http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-04-09-the-doctor-is-out-greg-zeschuk-on-bioware-ea-and-the-uncertain-console-future

    The killer is revealed. Well, if you believe this guy anyway. Another piece of the puzzle? 

    Leaving a company as large as EA requires a lot of documents to be signed and if you ever find yourself in breech of any of those you can find yourself hurting financially in a big way :P 

    While I agree with you, couldn't he have just answered the question another way instead of throwing his company under the bus for EA? He could have said it was any number of vague organizational issues instead of absolving EA--especially if EA were somehow to blame. I think it's more likely that he is being honest, and Bioware blew through a shitload of cash in a stupid way.

    He threw his company under a bus for EA when he sold it to them, why stop now :P lol... 

  • FromHellFromHell Member Posts: 1,311
    Originally posted by DeaconX

    I actually have never blamed EA for SWTOR..

     

    If you'd take the core concepts of SWG and SWOTR, executed them well, updated to today's standards... you'd have one killer SW MMORPG.

    exactly this.

    Different engine and aiming for a SWG/SWTOR hybrid -> epic win.

    Errors in BW game design and wrong choices.

    Well... now it's too late for a really great SW MMO :-/

    Secrets of Dragon?s Spine Trailer.. ! :D
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwT9cFVQCMw

    Best MMOs ever played: Ultima, EvE, SW Galaxies, Age of Conan, The Secret World
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2X_SbZCHpc&t=21s
    .


    .
    The Return of ELITE !
    image

  • simpliussimplius Member UncommonPosts: 1,134

    sure,,and combining a pacer with a gremlin would make a cheap ferrari, right?

     

  • DeaconXDeaconX Member UncommonPosts: 3,062
    Originally posted by FromHell
    Originally posted by DeaconX

    I actually have never blamed EA for SWTOR..

     

    If you'd take the core concepts of SWG and SWOTR, executed them well, updated to today's standards... you'd have one killer SW MMORPG.

    exactly this.

    Different engine and aiming for a SWG/SWTOR hybrid -> epic win.

    Errors in BW game design and wrong choices.

    Well... now it's too late for a really great SW MMO :-/

    It's amazing in a very sad way how the BIG NAMES in the gaming industry constantly miss the point with so much...

    image

    Why do I write, create, fantasize, dream and daydream about other worlds? Because I hate what humanity does with this one.

    BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.

  • ignore_meignore_me Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 1,987
    Originally posted by furh98

    So as I was reading this article I started to think oh great another attmept at a poster linking an article that never even mentions SWTOR but puts it under SWTOR instead of "general gaming".  Then finally snuck in there a hidden gem of myth busters.  You see the haters like to link swtor to his departure and there you have it the kryptonite to another one of their main propoganda speaches by those who daily try to take down SWTOR.  

     

    Q: With EA having just lost its CEO, a number of analysts would point to Star Wars: The Old Republic being a key reason for the departure. Do you think there is any truth to that? And how does it make you feel on a personal level that people are blaming your game for John Riccitiello stepping down?

     

    Greg Zeschuk: "I'm a little disappointed by it because I don't think it's really true; there were a lot of factors. You really have to step back and look at the big picture of things at the macro level of the business. The console core sales are slowing significantly - you can't get around that fact.  SWTOR shouldn't be blamed for Riccitiello's departure, Zeschuk says"

     

    Glad we can put this one to bed, great find!

    There is a lot of info in that article, and I purposely did not cut out excerpts because I didn't want to take things out of context.

    I posted the article because it shows that EA was not to blame for the bad design of SWTOR, according to the Dr.. That was almost completely the fault of Bioware. The people who worked on the game ruined it, by their own hands. This article debunks (among other things) Conspiracy theories about EA/LA coming in and micro-managing/strong arming.

    Sim City would be a more likely culprit for what you are talking about. And as much as I would like it, it simply isn't true that SWTOR's massive dump of 1.75 million lost players last year cost EA enough to be significant.

    No, one of the side effects of having so much money and that IP is that even a retarded game like SWTOR will have enough inertia to continue for years. I find the details to be interesting though, like a crime drama.  

    Survivor of the great MMORPG Famine of 2011

  • FromHellFromHell Member Posts: 1,311
    Originally posted by simplius

    sure,,and combining a pacer with a gremlin would make a cheap ferrari, right?

     

    so tell me, mr. game design expert, which elements from SWG are so incompatible with SWTOR ?

     

    The fully fledged space sim?

    The day night cycles on planets?

    A housing system?

    Minigames?

     

    Maybe you consider exhaustion zones, static planets, the non interactive environments, the rail shooter and uncustomizable ships "features" ?

    Secrets of Dragon?s Spine Trailer.. ! :D
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwT9cFVQCMw

    Best MMOs ever played: Ultima, EvE, SW Galaxies, Age of Conan, The Secret World
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2X_SbZCHpc&t=21s
    .


    .
    The Return of ELITE !
    image

  • ignore_meignore_me Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 1,987
    Originally posted by furh98
    Originally posted by ignore_me
    Originally posted by furh98

    So as I was reading this article I started to think oh great another attmept at a poster linking an article that never even mentions SWTOR but puts it under SWTOR instead of "general gaming".  Then finally snuck in there a hidden gem of myth busters.  You see the haters like to link swtor to his departure and there you have it the kryptonite to another one of their main propoganda speaches by those who daily try to take down SWTOR.  

     

    Q: With EA having just lost its CEO, a number of analysts would point to Star Wars: The Old Republic being a key reason for the departure. Do you think there is any truth to that? And how does it make you feel on a personal level that people are blaming your game for John Riccitiello stepping down?

     

    Greg Zeschuk: "I'm a little disappointed by it because I don't think it's really true; there were a lot of factors. You really have to step back and look at the big picture of things at the macro level of the business. The console core sales are slowing significantly - you can't get around that fact.  SWTOR shouldn't be blamed for Riccitiello's departure, Zeschuk says"

     

    Glad we can put this one to bed, great find!

    There is a lot of info in that article, and I purposely did not cut out excerpts because I didn't want to take things out of context.

    I posted the article because it shows that EA was not to blame for the bad design of SWTOR, according to the Dr.. That was almost completely the fault of Bioware. The people who worked on the game ruined it, by their own hands. This article debunks (among other things) Conspiracy theories about EA/LA coming in and micro-managing/strong arming.

    Sim City would be a more likely culprit for what you are talking about. And as much as I would like it, it simply isn't true that SWTOR's massive dump of 1.75 million lost players last year cost EA enough to be significant.

    No, one of the side effects of having so much money and that IP is that even a retarded game like SWTOR will have enough inertia to continue for years. I find the details to be interesting though, like a crime drama.  

    Well I cut out the only excerts that talked about the game you are associating this article with.  So I did not take it out of context at all.  So I do have one question.  If you think SWTOR sucks think its "retarted" how come most of your comments are on SWTOR?    Why are you spending so much time on something you don't like seems a little weird to me?  might be time to step outside and see some sunlight.  

    The lack of a playable SW MMO gives me extra free time. I use a small portion of that to post on the forums. Bioware killed my parents so I became Batman.

    Survivor of the great MMORPG Famine of 2011

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,347
    Originally posted by FromHell

    so tell me, mr. game design expert, which elements from SWG are so incompatible with SWTOR ?

    The day night cycles on planets?

    If the position of the sun in the sky moves continuously, then you cannot precompute lighting maps.  That means that the lighting won't look as good.  I'd say it's worth it, go ahead and do day and night cycles anyway.  But anyone who judges a game's graphics by looking at screenshots or videos of the game will think that the graphics are substantially worse if you do that.

    You can also have day and night cycles where there are separate lighting maps for each, and the sun is always in the same place all day long, and the moon (if any) is always in the same place all night.  But I'm not a fan of that approach, either.

  • nachofootnachofoot Member UncommonPosts: 122
    Originally posted by ignore_me

    http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-04-09-the-doctor-is-out-greg-zeschuk-on-bioware-ea-and-the-uncertain-console-future

    The killer is revealed. Well, if you believe this guy anyway. Another piece of the puzzle? 

     

    Halfway down I stopped reading.  It just seemed like he was trying to cover his ass and Bioware never did anything wrong.

     

    Nice...

  • simpliussimplius Member UncommonPosts: 1,134
    Originally posted by ignore_me
    Originally posted by furh98
    Originally posted by ignore_me
    Originally posted by furh98

    So as I was reading this article I started to think oh great another attmept at a poster linking an article that never even mentions SWTOR but puts it under SWTOR instead of "general gaming".  Then finally snuck in there a hidden gem of myth busters.  You see the haters like to link swtor to his departure and there you have it the kryptonite to another one of their main propoganda speaches by those who daily try to take down SWTOR.  

     

    Q: With EA having just lost its CEO, a number of analysts would point to Star Wars: The Old Republic being a key reason for the departure. Do you think there is any truth to that? And how does it make you feel on a personal level that people are blaming your game for John Riccitiello stepping down?

     

    Greg Zeschuk: "I'm a little disappointed by it because I don't think it's really true; there were a lot of factors. You really have to step back and look at the big picture of things at the macro level of the business. The console core sales are slowing significantly - you can't get around that fact.  SWTOR shouldn't be blamed for Riccitiello's departure, Zeschuk says"

     

    Glad we can put this one to bed, great find!

    There is a lot of info in that article, and I purposely did not cut out excerpts because I didn't want to take things out of context.

    I posted the article because it shows that EA was not to blame for the bad design of SWTOR, according to the Dr.. That was almost completely the fault of Bioware. The people who worked on the game ruined it, by their own hands. This article debunks (among other things) Conspiracy theories about EA/LA coming in and micro-managing/strong arming.

    Sim City would be a more likely culprit for what you are talking about. And as much as I would like it, it simply isn't true that SWTOR's massive dump of 1.75 million lost players last year cost EA enough to be significant.

    No, one of the side effects of having so much money and that IP is that even a retarded game like SWTOR will have enough inertia to continue for years. I find the details to be interesting though, like a crime drama.  

    Well I cut out the only excerts that talked about the game you are associating this article with.  So I did not take it out of context at all.  So I do have one question.  If you think SWTOR sucks think its "retarted" how come most of your comments are on SWTOR?    Why are you spending so much time on something you don't like seems a little weird to me?  might be time to step outside and see some sunlight.  

    The lack of a playable SW MMO gives me extra free time. I use a small portion of that to post on the forums. Bioware killed my parents so I became Batman.

    MY HERO

    batman, can i have your autograph?

    batman, can  you give me a ride in the batmobile?

    batman, where is robin?

    batman, how do i become a superhero, like you?

    PS im trying to make my own batcave, but its so cold in the winter, do you have a special trick?

  • ignore_meignore_me Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 1,987
    Originally posted by simplius
    Originally posted by ignore_me
    Originally posted by furh98
    Originally posted by ignore_me
    Originally posted by furh98

    So as I was reading this article I started to think oh great another attmept at a poster linking an article that never even mentions SWTOR but puts it under SWTOR instead of "general gaming".  Then finally snuck in there a hidden gem of myth busters.  You see the haters like to link swtor to his departure and there you have it the kryptonite to another one of their main propoganda speaches by those who daily try to take down SWTOR.  

     

    Q: With EA having just lost its CEO, a number of analysts would point to Star Wars: The Old Republic being a key reason for the departure. Do you think there is any truth to that? And how does it make you feel on a personal level that people are blaming your game for John Riccitiello stepping down?

     

    Greg Zeschuk: "I'm a little disappointed by it because I don't think it's really true; there were a lot of factors. You really have to step back and look at the big picture of things at the macro level of the business. The console core sales are slowing significantly - you can't get around that fact.  SWTOR shouldn't be blamed for Riccitiello's departure, Zeschuk says"

     

    Glad we can put this one to bed, great find!

    There is a lot of info in that article, and I purposely did not cut out excerpts because I didn't want to take things out of context.

    I posted the article because it shows that EA was not to blame for the bad design of SWTOR, according to the Dr.. That was almost completely the fault of Bioware. The people who worked on the game ruined it, by their own hands. This article debunks (among other things) Conspiracy theories about EA/LA coming in and micro-managing/strong arming.

    Sim City would be a more likely culprit for what you are talking about. And as much as I would like it, it simply isn't true that SWTOR's massive dump of 1.75 million lost players last year cost EA enough to be significant.

    No, one of the side effects of having so much money and that IP is that even a retarded game like SWTOR will have enough inertia to continue for years. I find the details to be interesting though, like a crime drama.  

    Well I cut out the only excerts that talked about the game you are associating this article with.  So I did not take it out of context at all.  So I do have one question.  If you think SWTOR sucks think its "retarted" how come most of your comments are on SWTOR?    Why are you spending so much time on something you don't like seems a little weird to me?  might be time to step outside and see some sunlight.  

    The lack of a playable SW MMO gives me extra free time. I use a small portion of that to post on the forums. Bioware killed my parents so I became Batman.

    MY HERO

    batman, can i have your autograph?

    batman, can  you give me a ride in the batmobile?

    batman, where is robin?

    batman, how do i become a superhero, like you?

    PS im trying to make my own batcave, but its so cold in the winter, do you have a special trick?

    Bat guano can be used to make gunpowder :)

    Survivor of the great MMORPG Famine of 2011

  • simpliussimplius Member UncommonPosts: 1,134

    sadly, that wont help much

    mommy has hidden the matches, she didnt believe my story the last time i found them

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